


Partner

by SilviaS7



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 20:33:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7453036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilviaS7/pseuds/SilviaS7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a quiet flight to their next target, Trunks thinks about the woman sitting next to him and if she really is his ally or not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Partner

**Author's Note:**

> This little drabble collection fits into a chapter of my major fanfic, "Illumination" and thus references characters and situations from that story. For that reason, this will probably make little to no sense to most readers. My apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or any of its related properties.

 

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Partner

 

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[Instability]

 

Instability was all that Trunks ever knew. Even after humanity's enemies were defeated, new types of enemies like disease, famine, and civil strife rose up to replace them. When _those_ enemies were quelled, he inadvertently found new ones. Instability also described his relationship with _her_ – was she an ally or an enemy? Was she going to fight with him or beside him? The answer to those questions was never clear, and changed on a daily basis. Now, he thought, hoped, and even prayed - things were going to be different. This time, they rode into battle _together_ , not apart.

 

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[Chaos]

 

He never meant to hurt her. Though he could hardly be blamed for falling victim to Dax's ruse, and he didn't damage her physically. She was broke and he was guilty. He could have run; she would never find him and even if she did, he could easily subdue her. Compared to him, her power was nothing. But that wasn't who he was. Perhaps accepting her offer was sublimely stupid. Most days she was barely his ally, and definitely _not_ his friend, but despite the chaos introduced into his life one unassuming afternoon, he knew he made the right choice.

 

-+-

 

[Darkness]

 

Trunks's eyes drifted to his left, looking at her. He could make out her form in the chair next to him despite the darkness in their small shuttle. Surprisingly, she had fallen asleep for once. He remembered not too long ago when he wondered if she was an android. Up and running all the time, never taking a break. It was an idle thought; he could sense her ki from the moment they first met. But now he understood why she didn't sleep much. She probably never knew how. The remnants of behavior ingrained into her as a child soldier.

 

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[Lavender]

 

As she slept, he could sense that her ki was low and even. He had figured out how she managed to stay awake all the time. She slowly, subtly burned off her energy to compensate for the lack of sleep. She would sneak in an hour or two, he was sure, but otherwise she was always on guard for the next job, the next attack. Trunks ran his right hand up and through his long lavender hair; he wished he never saw that file. His life was easier when he could simply despise her instead of feeling sorry for her.

 

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[Time]

 

His blue eyes drifted down to the dimmed piloting console in front of him. Based on the current time and their rate of travel, they still had seven hours left before reaching the planet Belos. _Time,_ Trunks thought sullenly while letting out a deep breath. Now there was one thing he knew more about than her. He wondered what she would think, if he told her, 'Hey, I've traveled to the past – twice. My mother built a time machine.' She would never believe him. She would have to see it for herself. He smirked; she was stubborn like that.

 

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[Paradox]

 

Trunks used to think about time paradoxes, especially after Cell's appearance. Had he caused all of this chaos by traversing time in the first place? He _used_ to think so. After Cell killed him, and he wound up somewhere neither Heaven nor Hell nor in-between, he learned the truth. There were an infinite number of timelines; every event at every infinitesimally small moment in time, those universes diverged from one another. A branching tree of time. He, his mother, his friends on Earth, and on Bmyhad – they all existed on one tiny little branch that was his whole world.

 

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[Hope]

 

And even knowing how insignificant he was in the grand scheme of existence, Trunks still felt that somehow _his_ time, his universe was special. Or maybe he just hoped it was. Because with the help of his mother, he had taken the sun from the sky; he had done the impossible. Not only did he travel through time, he spent two years in a time warp in the past, died and fell through the center of time, was revived, and returned home to destroy the enemies plaguing his world. So he had hope. Hope that they would destroy Rieve, together.

 

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[Sole Survivor]

 

Perhaps he was the eternal optimist out of necessity. Growing up as a sole survivor of a legacy too great for him to fully understand at the time and in the shadow of death, all he could do was hope for a better day. For a day without terror and death and the lurching feeling in his stomach whenever it rained after Gohan died. So even in this new, unexpected journey to avenge a friend and protect those still alive, he felt that he could see it through and survive. _She_ seemed to be opposite – she survived, without hope.

 

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[Determination]

 

She had a sheer determination of will that surprised him. She wasn't the strongest, or the smartest, but man, she knew how to take a beating and get back up. It wasn't something as beautiful as hope that drove her. No, she was much too grounded for that. It had to be much more simple, more pragmatic. It was probably just stubbornness. Trunks laughed to himself; he could understand that. Perhaps a little pride was mixed in, but even then he'd seen her give up pride to reach her goals. He didn't know what drove her—but he wanted to know.

 

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[Perseverance]

 

Now _that_ was something they had in common, whether she realized it or not. They had both put their lives on the line, taken hit after hit, one defeat after another, and yet still had the perseverance to endure. He respected that in her, even when she marched into doom. Despite spending more than six months with her, he still didn't understand her. Trunks knew he had his mother's curiosity; he needed to know _how_ and _why_ things worked the way they did. That was why he was so invested in knowing more about Armada. Or so he told himself.

 

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Thanks for reading! This was written after-the-fact for the June BVDN at The Prince and The Heiress Google+ community. Please come over and check it out, it's a great group for Dragon Ball fanfic and fanart lovers.

Edited to add:  Sweet, I was awarded the banner even though I couldn't participate the night of.  Thanks to Mallie V and Crystal Rose, the leaders of The Prince and The Heiress community!  Woohoo!

 

 


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